Former Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker has accused David Van of inappropriately touching her at a social function in 2020.
Stoker said Van had apologised for his actions.
“In November 2020, Senator Van inappropriately touched me at an informal social gathering in a parliamentary office,” Stoker said.
“He did so by squeezing my bottom twice. By its nature and by its repetition, it was not accidental.
“That action was not appropriate. It was unprofessional and uninvited.
“I raised the matter with Senator Van at a meeting the following day. I described the action, told him it was unacceptable, and that it was not to be repeated. He apologised and said he would never do it again.
“I accepted his apology and his undertaking. Contemporaneous notes of the meeting were taken and it never happened again.”
She also told the Senate a man – who she did not identify – had cornered her in a parliamentary stairwell.
9news.com.au does not suggest she was talking about Van.
Van has not responded to Stoker’s accusation, but has vehemently denied Thorpe’s claims, describing them as “outrageous” and “false”.
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The senator was removed from the Liberal party room this afternoon by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who said he had been notified of allegations other than Thorpe’s overnight and today.
Stoker said that, while she would have preferred for her alleged incident to have remained private, she felt compelled to come forward following Thorpe’s allegations.
“I believe all women should be free from unwanted advances and confident to speak up immediately and be respected for doing so,” Stoker said.
“I promptly advised a senior female colleague about the incident, and of the action I had taken. I did so to ensure that if there were any other incidents of which I was not aware, or any future reports, they could be dealt with appropriately.
“Obviously, this was not a good experience. I took it very seriously but did not want his misbehaviour to define me or any other woman. I simply wanted to ensure his behaviour was never repeated.
“So I used the internal process for his behaviour to be addressed, whilst asking for it to be kept confidential. I would have preferred that the matter be resolved privately and finally – as I thought it was.
“However, following Senator Thorpe’s allegations, it is now clear that is no longer tenable.
“I do not know of any other similar events or reports.”
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